Sud-Ouest Djinn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| S.O.1221 Djinn | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Light helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Sud-Ouest |
| Maiden flight | 1953 |
| Primary users | French Army German Army |
| Number built | 178 |
The Sud-Ouest S.O.1221 Djinn is a French two-seat light helicopter designed and built by Sud-Ouest later Sud Aviation. The helicopter rotors were driven by compressed-air jets at the end of each blade.
[edit] Development
Experience with the earlier Ariel experimental tip jet helicopter led Sud-Ouest to develop a practical light helicopter the S.O.1221 Djinn. It did not use the same tip jet system but relied on compressed air being fed to the ends of the rotor blades. The Djinn was apart from the propulsion a conventional helicopter with a two-seat side-by-side cabin with a Turbomeca Palouste turbo-compressor behind. The aircraft had an uncovered tail-boom with a twin fins and a rudder, because of the non-torque rotor propulsion it did not need an anti-tourque tail rotor. A prototype (designated S.O.1220) first flew on 2 January 1953 it was a simple uncovered structure with an exposed seat for the pilot. This proved the viability of the propulsion system and five two-seat prototypes were then built as the S.O.1221, the first flew on 16 December 1953. Within a few days the helicopter had climbed to an altitude of 4789m (15,712 ft) to establish a record in its class.
The French Army encouraged the building of a pre-production batch of 22 helicopters for evaluation. The first pre-production aircraft flew on 23 September 1954. Three of these pre-production helicopters were acquired by the United States Army for evaluation as the YHO-1. The French Army ordered 100 helicopters and six were bought by the German Army. The French Army used the helicopter for liaison, observation, training, and with one-pilot and two external litters for casualty evacuation.
Production ended in the mid-1960s after 178 Djinns had been built, some helicopters were sold to civil operators for agricultural use fitted with chemical tanks and spray bars.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications
Data from * The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2975
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 5.30 m (17 ft 4½ in)
- Main rotor diameter: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
- Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6¼ in)
- Main rotor area: 95.03 m² (1022.96 ft²)
- Empty weight: 360 kg (704 lb)
- Gross weight: 800 kg (1764 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Turbomeca Palouste IV turbo-compressor, 179 kW (240 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 130 km/h (81 mph)
- Endurance: 2 hours 15 min
Related development
[edit] References
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2975
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
